Articulation and flexibility in the physical linkage between band 3 and the cytoskeleton in the human erythrocyte

Abstract

The erythrocyte membrane with its underlying cytoskeleton undergoes gross deformation during passage of the cell through fine capillary networks in the circulation. The physical linkages between the cytoskeleton and the membrane must involve substantial internal flexibility or points of articulation within and between molecules in the system. We have used time-resolved phosphorescence spectroscopy to examine three aspects of this dynamic flexibility on the microsecond to millisecond time scale: (1) the rotational diffusion and internal flexibility of F-actin, (2) the intrinsic flexibility of spectrin in solution and when reconstituted to erythrocyte membranes, and (3) internal flexibility in..